Heart Under Fire
by WriteToEscapeReality1309
Summary: After everything life had put her through, Dani Reyes never planned to keep on living, much less become a hero. But she knew becoming part of Station 118 was exactly what she needed to give her life meaning again. What she didn't expect, however, was opening her heart and becoming part of a family that accepted for who she was and not the trauma she carried. Buck/OC.
1. Pilot Pt1

Every time Dani closed her eyes she could hear the woman's plea to live. The big purple-blue bracelet of a bruise around her right wrist didn't help erase the horrible memory, either.

It was her first day. Her first call; a jumper standing on the edge of a fifteen-story building. As the new kid, her Captain had thought it'd be better for her to stand and watch by the sidelines but her stubbornness had gotten her on top of that building, alone with a woman who already had one foot in Death's Door.

But Dani knew how to diffuse the situation. If six years of working at her local Lifeline center had thought her something, it was how to give people hope again, and Miranda was no different. She might've been standing on the edge of a building but her hands were still holding the metal railing tight as Dani spoke with her. There was still a part of her that wanted to be saved.

"Look, Miranda," Dani smiled her kindest smile at the middle-aged woman, cautiously inching close to her while slowly reaching her hand out, "I know some real good people that will help you overcome whatever it is that's got you here, so if you can just please give me your hand..."

Miranda let out a sardonic laugh as she swung one of her bare feet in the air, making Dani freeze in her step. "Help? No one's gonna help me. And even if someone did, I ain't want no help." She brought her foot back and placed it in one of the spaces between the railing, turning her head down at the team of firefighters and policemen on the ground with a grin. "I'm free!" She shouted, the sadness behind her glee striking hard against Dani's chest while she took a few more steps forward. "I ain't never been more free!"

Close enough to smell the stench of marijuana on the woman as she let one hand off the railing and swung her body back it without a care, Dani swallowed down the fear in her throat and tried something else. "Okay, well, before you go and free yourself, Miranda, just answer me one question." The brunette turned her attention back to Dani, raising a curious eyebrow as she continued to sway back and forth from behind the railing. "You ever tried that one taco stand in South Central? The one that makes their tortillas by hand and marinate their fajita so good you don't even need sauce to give it taste? Oh, and what about their nachos; you tried those yet? Loaded up on cheese and jalapenos. And an ice cold beer, or two - That's heaven right there, huh?"

With a lazy smile on her lips, the woman pulled herself back to the railing and looked at her, "Girl, stop, you're making me hungry."

Dani smiled as she finally stood an arm's length of her and nodded, "You let me get you from behind that rail and I'll buy you lunch. I'll even throw some of my mom's amazing tostones, if you give me your hand."

"What are those?" The middle aged woman planted her feet firmly on the ground and leaned forward.

"Come on, you won't regret it, I promise." Dani held out her hand and Miranda took it.

There was hope in her eyes again; Dani had seen it before Miranda's foot slipped in the process of pulling herself from behind the railing, and fell back off the edge. The hold her hand had on Dani's wrist was the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground below, as her fingers wrapped around one of the bottom rails at the last second.

"Oh my god, oh my god! I don't wanna die; please don't let me die!" Miranda cried, catching a glimpse of the ground where firefighters moved for backup.

"No, no, no, don't look down! Look at me; just look at me." Dani felt like her arm was going to pop out of its socket from the hold she had on her. The pressure from the railing hard against her chest definitely dug at her rib cage, but she ignored the pain and concentrated on not letting go of Miranda. "Miranda, I'm gonna need you to let go of the rail so I can pull you up."

"No, no I can't!" The woman gripped it tighter while tears ran down her face. "I can't, I can't, I can't!" Her sobs had begun to near hysteria.

Dani tried to calm her down, saying softly to her, "Miranda, Miranda, hey- you can do this. I'm not going to let you go, trust me."

"You won't let go?" She repeated shakily.

"I'm not," Dani reassured before reaching out her left hand over the railing for her to grab.

Miranda looked between her and the grip she had on the bottom rail, a bitter laugh escaping her as she let go and said, "Those tostones better be good."

Dani didn't have time to reply as she clutched Miranda's free hand in hers with a groan. She should've known that the rusty old railing would not stand the pressure as she put all her weight against it and used her strength to pull the woman up.

Dani almost had her, when the railing broke and there had been nothing else to hold her back as she also went over the edge, only to be saved by the grip on the flagpole close to them.

"Shit!" Dani screamed at the eruption of pain from a dislocated shoulder. Nothing would have prepared her for literally hanging from the edge of a building, and it would've been anyone's survival instinct to let go of the drug addict hanging from their hand and save themselves, but she had chosen to be a firefighter for a reason. The same reason why she chose to live eleven years ago, when death didn't mean an end to life but a release from suffering. Because even if she couldn't save herself, there was always someone else to save.

She could have still saved this woman, if not for her weak grip. Dani hadn't let go, but there was only so much a human body could resist against, and Miranda's hadn't been able to hold up for long.

By the time Captain Nash and her team had gotten to the top and pulled Dani up, Miranda's body had lay broken on the pavement fifteen stories below.

* * *

She rubbed the dull ache on her forehead and tried to forget it as she rested her head against the firetruck's window for a second.

Dani told herself over and over that it was just the job. As a firefighter she got to save lives and be a hero, but losing people was on the job description just the same as saving them. It was not easy being a hero and she knew that. Didn't mean she wished things could've gone differently, though.

"Okay, this is your stop." Dani's fellow firefighter, Evan "Buck" Buckley, pulled the firetruck to a stop at the curbside and turned to her expectantly. "Come on, I have somewhere to be in five minutes and counting."

Dani ignored the urgency in his voice. Already fed up with the amount of times he had kicked her out of the truck while on a quick grocery haul. She had only put up with the last two because she found the three-block walk to the Station therapeutic, if anything. But today she wasn't in a mood to carry two arms-full of grocery bags in this California heat just so _Mr. Buck_ over here could get in a hot quickie before their next call.

The more she thought about how stupidly she'd been pushed-over by him since she joined the Station, the bigger the urge she had to punch him in the face, honestly. Had she really let her PTSD get that bad that she was letting some pretty white boy disrespect her like this? No, not today.

"Keep driving, Buckley. Hen is not gonna appreciate it if her ice cream is melted."

"Dani, Dani please," he looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes, "just forty minutes; I'll pick you back right up."

Jesus, just how bad did he need to get laid? Dani looked at him and smirked, ready to see how much it would take as she extended the palm of her hand to him, "I wanna see fifty, first."

Buck shook his head in disbelief but had no choice than to bargain, "Thirty."

She let out a small, mocking laugh, "Oh, that's cute..." A stern look quickly settled on her face before she locked her door and leaned back in the passenger seat, "That'll be one-hundred, then."

"What? No that's not how you're-" He stopped and regained his composure, shrugging as he turned back to the wheel without care. "Alright, if that's how you want it. I don't mind an audience."

Dani's eyes widened and face twisted in disgust at the implication, which made Buck grin smugly while he turned on the engine. "Fine," furious, she snatched his cellphone with the GPS tracking _GROOVYHEALS297_ and stuck her arm out the window, threatening to break it. "Two-hundred, or paying for a new phone; what's it going to be, _FIREHOSE_?"

Buck's smug grin was wiped off and he let out an annoyed huff as he took out his wallet and hastily handed her two hundred-dollar bills.

After taking the money, Dani collected the few grocery bags and finally got out the firetruck. With her door still opened, she couldn't help but be filled with indignation as she told him, "And don't bother picking me up."

"Wasn't planning on it," Buck bit out before she slammed the door closed.

Oh how much she wanted to punch his face!

Luckily though, the wish to inflict pain on her teammates ended with Buck. The rest of Station 118 had been nothing but good to her since she joined them. Hen, Chimney, Captain Bobby, they all had become like a second family to her, which that on its own was something to tell. Dani never let people in. On the contrary, she pushed them away. Even her actual family, she couldn't really talk to them anymore. After everything that happened to her, there hadn't been much left of the old Dani when she was saved, and she couldn't pretend that there was so it was better for everyone if she kept a safe distance.

But even though she tried to be, Dani wasn't without emotions and feelings, and having a familial relationship with the people she spent most of her time with was almost inevitable.

Of course, Evan Buckley had to be the exception and not the rule. But although no matter how much she'd hate to admit, he wasn't even half as bad as the men she'd encountered. She gave him that much, but other than that he was an ass. An extremely cocky one, too. With that smug smirk on his lips and sly look in his light blue eyes... There wasn't anything she could do but roll her eyes as she entered the station, her hands finally softening the grip on the grocery bag's fabric - imagining it was Buckley's throat she'd been squeezing the shit out of as she walked, and finally diffused her anger.

"Dani, good you're here!" Hen smiled at her as she stepped up the stairs to the fire station's kitchen/break room loft.

"Yeah, I got the goods," Dani returned her smile and walked over to their table. She set down the grocery bags and started handing out what they asked for. "One neapolitan ice cream for you, Hen. Chim, there's your protein powder stuff. And Bobby, here's that parsley and parm."

Everyone gave her a thanks, while her captain was the one to ask her about her missing partner as he took the block of cheese and started grating it in a bowl. "Where is Buck?"

Suddenly, the two-hundred bucks weighed heavily in her back pocket as she shrugged innocently, "I don't know; he said he forgot something and had to go back." She plucked a big purple grape from the fruit bowl at the center of the table and put it in her mouth. Bobby didn't look convinced and neither did Hen and Chimney, so she turned the conversation around, wanting not to talk about anything Buckley anymore. "So, _who's_ using _what_ as bait...?"

Hen turned from the fridge, deciding to save her ice cream for later, and chuckled knowingly before catching Dani up, "Chimney's got a hot new girlfriend and he's using his uniform to keep her entertained."

The attention was as all on Chimney now as he fully explained, "I met her on this new dating site just for cops and firefighters; RomancingTheUniform. com. She's an adrenaline junkie, so foreplay is me telling her stories about running into burning buildings and jumping into icy lakes."

"Wait, you actually got to go inside a burning building?" Dani raised her eyebrows in surprise while she took a seat at the table.

Hen shot her new-kid excitement a sympathetic look and shook her head, "Oh no, it's been a long while since Chim did anything like that."

"I embellish a little," Chimney cleared his throat, a guilty smile spread on his lips as he nodded.

"Oh," Dani let out a small chuckle, "noted."

"I'm telling you, the uniform is a major aphrodisiac!"

"Clearly," Hen laughed and from behind the kitchen island Captain Bobby gave Chimney an amused smile.

But all their joking stopped once the missing firetruck was heard, Buck entering the station and quickly coming up the stairs to the loft.

Dani shrunk in her chair, looking over at Bobby and noticing his stern features. "I'm sorry, Captain, I didn't-" she swallowed guiltily, trying to plea her case, "he didn't really give me a choice-"

"Don't worry about it, Dani," Bobby nodded at her and sighed. "This has been going on since before you joined; I just thought... if there was someone else to keep an eye on him..."

Dani nodded silently in understanding while Buck walked over to their table with a grin on his face. Nonchalant, he smelled Bobby's cooking and tastefully licked his lips as he grabbed a string of spaghetti with his fingers.

"Hey!" Sitting down, Hen pulled the large bowl away from him. "Wash your hands, we don't know where they've been."

Bobby handed the salad bowl to Dani before he walked over to the young man. "What if we had a call?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Buck explained, "I was just, uh, getting it washed."

At this, Chimney smirked and eyed him from his seat, "They charged you extra for the detail?"

"Oh, you don't wanna know." Dani rolled her eyes when she caught the pointed look Buck gave her while taking the small bowl of broccoli from Bobby's hand and biting down on one of them.

"Listen, I like you," Bobby gained back his attention, "you're a good firefighter. I know we got this thing; you call me Pops and I give you a hard time for being a dumbass kid, we went to a Springsteen concert together," he put his hands on his hips, stern, as he finished, "but this is not a family. It's not a clubhouse- so I'm writing you up."

"Come on, Bobby," Buck's face fell for a second before the corner of his mouth lifted in a disbelieving half-smile. "See the fire. Put out the fire. The rest is blah-blah..."

"No," the Captain frowned. "The system and the rules are not arbitrary. First infraction. Two more and you're out." He held up his right hand, meaning no debating on the consequences, and took the broccoli bowl from Buck, "Now, wash your hands."

Dani kept her eyes concentrated on the plate in front of her, mindlessly turning her fork in the spaghetti while the others silently watched Buck leave. She had heard everything but not really listened, her mind wandering over to Miranda like it had been doing since she woke up this morning. She just couldn't shake what happened to that poor woman away, not even to enjoy watching Buck finally get his ass handed to him by their captain.

"You okay, Dani?"

She looked up at Bobby, who had already taken a seat at the table, and blinked away the pensive look in her eyes as she passed the salad up and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Bobby nodded, lifting his fork to have his first bite as the bell blared throughout the station and they collectively groaned.

While her team tried to scarf their lunch down in the few seconds that took them to stand up from the table, Dani lost all appetite at the sound of the bell and tried not to let them see her shaky hands.

It was just another call. She reminded herself to breathe steadily. It didn't automatically mean another loss.

If she did her job right this time, she could save someone... She _would_ save someone.

* * *

**9-1-1 DISPATCHER:**  
9-1-1 WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY?

**CALLER:**  
YEAH HI, I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT ON 876 MCCAIN.  
I'M IN MY BATHROOM AND I THINK I HEAR A BABY CRYING. IN THE WALL.

**9-1-1 DISPATCHER:**  
HOW IS THE BABY ON THE WALL?

**CALLER:**  
NO NO NO. NOT ON THE WALL._ IN_ THE WALL. THERE'S A BABY INSIDE MY WALL. I-I THINK SOMEONE FLUSHED A BABY DOWN THE TOILET.

* * *

Dani rounded the firetruck, parked just outside the apartment complex, and stopped when she saw Buck excitedly take an axe in his hands. "What the hell's the axe for?"

He looked at her, a mocking tone to his voice as he weighed the axe in his right hand and explained to her like she was a little girl, "There's something inside a wall, Dani; we're gonna need something to break through it."

"Jesus," she muttered and swallowed back the curse in her throat. Obviously he was still mad at her for the money, but she tried not let him get to her. "The call said it was a baby. What we're going to need is medical equipment, not a lumberjack's axe." She looked at him and when it became clear he wasn't going to move, she sighed and pointed at the red box stored above him. "Hand me that kit, please?"

She couldn't help the bite in her words, though, and Buck smirked, pleased to see her annoyed before he reached over and handed her the med kit. "You really think there's a baby stuck inside a wall?"

_"How much you want to bet?"_ Was what she really wanted to counter but now was not the time, allowing herself to answer seriously instead, "I hope not."

"Let's do it," Hen told them and they all made their way to the gate.

"Where are we headed?" Chimney asked Bobby as they stepped into the property.

"The fourth floor."

Buck trotted up the steps with a grin, "I'll race you!"

"Ah, race yourself, Rambo. I'm fifty years old, I'm taking the elevator."

"Who's Rambo?" The genuine confusion on Buck's face when he turned and looked at her almost stopped Dani dead in her tracks.

"Shit, Buckley," Dani had to laugh because if she didn't, she would've strangled him right then and there.

* * *

The moment they stepped into his place and got a whiff of the smell, it was clear the caller had been on something when he made the call. Probably still was. Dani picked up a smoking bong from the guy's bookcase and raised an eyebrow at Hen, who smirked and shook her head.

Bobby led the way into the bathroom and the guy, dressed in a dirty old t-shirt and boxers under his black bathrobe, stepped aside to let him investigate. After a short moment, their captain came back into the living room with a shrug, "I don't hear anything."

The young man sighed from his seat on the couch and said, "Look, I'm telling you, I heard a baby crying. Someone flushed a baby down the toilet." He was pretty convinced of this, but that didn't necessarily hold any truth to the rest of them. "Oh, I'm not high," he tried, Dani eying the bong suspiciously, and ended up admitting, "okay, I-I'm pretty high but it's a sativa. You know? It makes you happy; i-it doesn't make you hallucinate."

Chimney glanced at the bathroom again and uncrossed his arms. "It could've been a cat, right? Sometimes rats get stuck in the walls."

If Chim would've continued talking, Dani would've missed it. She caught the small noise a beat after he finished, gone just as quickly as she heard it. "Wait, wait, guys," she silenced the room. "I think I heard something," she told them and hurried into the bathroom, the team following behind her.

Bobby pressed the side of his head against the plaster white wall like she did. "You hear it?" Dani asked her captain and watched him strain to hear something before she pulled her head from the wall and quickly grabbed her stethoscope. "This will work better." She placed the earpiece into one of each other's ears and pressed the diaphragm on the wall.

Dread sat in the pit of her stomach like an anchor dropped into sea when she heard the unmistakable baby's cry. Bobby heard it, too, taking off the stethoscope and rapping his knuckles on the wall, hurrying to find a hollow spot.

"Give me a pen," he ordered as another whimper came from the wall, "give me a Sharpie."

"Hey!" The guy frowned at the big black 'X' now marked on his bathroom wall.

"Alright," Bobby ignored him and looked at his team, "we need to open up this wall."

"No, no. We're being punked. It's a tape recorder or something. Right, Spicoli?" Disbelieving, Chimney turned and raised an eyebrow at the caller.

Hen sighed and shook his head at Chimney, moving closer and looking down at the toilet, "Maybe he's right. Maybe a mother gives birth on the toilet and flushes it-"

"Okay, first of all, that's awful. Second, do you not know how a toilet pipe works? There's this piece of serpentine pipe that takes the waste - from the toilet to-"

Bobby cut him off to explain, "If this is a premature baby, its bones could bend and compress like sponges. Okay? We need to go in there."

"Stand back, I got this." Buck took in a breath and breathed out as he picked up his axe and charged at the wall.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Their captain shouted, Hen and Chimney stepping back with a gasp as Buck prepared to swing the axe. Dani rushed to stand in front of the marked 'X' while Bobby slid between her and Buck's axe, grabbing its handle and stopping him. "Did you even consider you might hit a baby?" At his words, Buck loosened the grip on the axe and let the realization slowly sink in. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Go get the saw."

"Um, yeah- yeah, okay- um, I'm gonna..." He gave the axe to Bobby and tried to hide the embarrassment rising to his cheeks as he raced out the apartment.

"And try to find some common sense while you're down there!" Chimney called after him, reaching for the axe Bobby handed to him.

"Yeah," Dani sighed as she stepped away from the wall and ran a hand through her hair, "that's about the only thing he's gonna find..." She walked out into the living room and returned not a few seconds later with a case, opening it to pull out the saw. "Captain," she raised it up to Bobby, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he took it.

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone! So, this has been sitting in my drafts for over a year now and in an attempt to clean out my files I decided to publish this work instead of deleting it. Who knows, maybe others would find Dani's story interesting? **

**If you have enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review on your thoughts- it doesn't have to be long, just some words of encouragement to know that you are interested in seeing this story go further! **

**Anyways, thank you for reading! I hope you all have a lovely day/night! :)**


	2. Pilot Pt2

Dani let out a deep breath as she took a step back from tearing down the wall, letting Bobby and Chimney get to the big piece of pipe instead. She tucked a strand of hair come undone behind her left ear and turned to pay attention as Hen said, "Guys, that pipe services a quarter of the toilets above us; it's going to be messy."

"Oh, no," Dani realized with widened eyes. "We need to stop the upper floors from using them."

"Yeah," Hen agreed, explaining to the other pair working the wall, "even with the water off, if anyone flushes the toilet it could drown the baby."

Their captain wasted no time in ordering them to go.

"Hey, guys I couldn't-" Buck stepped into the bathroom, a confused look quickly settling on his features when he found them mid-way from tearing down the wall. "What's going on?" He turned to the pair of women who dropped everything and rushed out the room.

"Here," Dani halted for a moment and took off her gloves, shoving them onto his chest in a hurry as she said, "just help them get the baby out."

Buck grabbed the brown pair of working gloves and opened his mouth to say something back but she ran out of the apartment, repeating a string of words in Spanish that he could only guess were a translation of what Hen exclaimed out onto the hallways of the upper floors.

Dani followed after Hen as she climbed up the stairs and warned people not to flush their toilets. Children and adults alike came out of their homes and voiced their questions, which she didn't have time to explain until one woman reached out and grabbed her arm before stepping on the next flight of stairs.

"_Qué está pasando?_" She looked up at Dani with worried and confused eyes.

Dani shook her head as she tried holding back her tired breath and told her the same thing, "_No se preocupe, señora. Solo asegúrese de no usar su inodoro. Todo va estar bien._"

"_Entonces ya encontraron la mamá?_"

"The mom?" Dani repeated with furrowed eyebrows, listening carefully as the woman explained how she had seen a young girl make her way to the fifth floor with blood all over her dress and legs.

She thanked the woman for her information and once again reminded her to tell the others not to flush their toilets.

* * *

Dani took the stairs two steps at a time, her calves' muscles burning when she caught a glimpse of Sergeant Grant. "Athena!" She raised her voice loud enough for the officers to stop their persistent knocking on doors and turned in her direction.

"Dani," the short-haired black woman stepped away from the apartment door and called back, "what's wrong?"

"Someone saw the mom going up the fifth floor," she explained and Athena hurried behind her one more flight of stairs.

"LAPD! LAPD! Open up!"

They went door to door, asking for the young girl but those who answered them didn't have a clue about her. "Any luck down there?" Athena asked Dani and let out an exasperated breath when she replied back with a no.

She turned to try the doors across the hallway, noticing a frightened man out of the corner of her eye before looking at him down the hallway. "Hey, sir- Sir!"

The man's eyes widened in alarm as he bolted and she didn't have a choice but to run after him.

Dani saw him at the last second, too, following Athena but to no avail as he slammed the door on their faces and locked himself inside his apartment. The sergeant muttered out a low swear and turned to Dani, who looked down suspiciously at the trail of blood dripped all the way to the back exit.

"Okay," Athena took another deep breath and told her, "I'm gonna see where this leads to. You stay here and try to get him to open up, if the girl is in there she's going to need medical assistance."

Dani nodded her head at her orders and watched her leave before turning to the gray door again. Despite her constant banging, the man didn't answer and the thought of breaking down the door crossed her mind in desperation.

With Athena's orders going through her head, she gave way to her instincts and kicked the door twice before it splintered in half and she finally stepped in.

More blood trailed inside the small foyer going down the hallway and turned the corner to where no doubt the mother was being held. Dani pushed aside the middle-aged man yelling at her and ran to the bedroom. A sudden sense of déjà vu overwhelmed her senses, frozen at the sight of the teenage girl curled up and weeping on her bed.

A gut wrenching memory invaded her mind as she pulled the bloodied covers from the blonde and felt the anger flood through her veins. "Did you do this to her?!" She whipped around to face the hideous man as she bellowed. "You sick son of a bitch!" Her rage blinded her to the father's cries while he pleaded for his daughter's safety in his native language. "How long have you kept her here?!" She grabbed a fistful of his collar-shirt, the scared man fighting back but all she could see was the face of her abuser. "_How long?!_"

"What the hell, Dani?" Athena came into the room, shocked to see her ready to strangle the defenseless man in her hold. "Hey, let him go!_ Reyes_! Let him _go_!" She tore the brunette away from him and tried bringing her back from those dark memories. "It's her father Dani, and he's scared; just look at him."

Athena's far-away voice slowly came into focus as Dani found herself back in the apartment bedroom. As the rapid drumming of her heart calmed down with every breath she took, she looked away from Athena and apologized to the shaking Russian man, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. You're good, I'll take care of him," Athena sighed and finally let go of her. "But the girl needs to get to a hospital fast."

"Yeah, okay." Dani concentrated on the bleeding girl as she walked over to the bed, careful as she took her feverish body in her arms and followed Athena and the father out of the building.

* * *

The ambulance was ready to drive off but thanks to Athena's orders, it was held back for Dani to reach its double doors as she carried the frail girl in her hands.

"Where's the stretcher?- Get me a stretcher!" She waited for the paramedics to pull out the equipment, all ready to get her inside the ambulance, before the doors opened and Buck looked at them in disbelief.

"Yo, is that the mother?!" Both Dani and Athena stared back at him, noticing the newborn baby wrapped in his arms as he continued to yell, furious. "No! _Screw he_r!"

"Are you insane?!" Dani shouted at him in equal anger as he reached his arm out to block her entrance.

"Look what she did!" He referred to the baby, the hatred obvious and pungent in his eyes as he glared at Dani and the girl.

"She is a child!" Athena shook her head and attempted to get the girl inside but Buck wouldn't let them.

"What- What's going on?" Bobby came out of the apartment complex, interrupting their clamoring. They should've been long on their way to the hospital by now.

"He's refusing to take her!" Athena blamed Buck for their hold-up.

"Alright, alright," their captain glanced between Dani carrying the girl and Buck with the baby in his arms, putting an end to all of it. "Get her inside. Come on, we have to go."

Buck shook his head in disapproval while Bobby and Dani helped the mother, his emotions running high as he couldn't help but explode at her and Athena. "If this baby dies, it's on the both of you!"

* * *

The tension was thick and all too asphyxiating, as Dani seethed silently on her side while tending to the young girl and Buck took care of the baby with tense shoulders across from them in the back of the ambulance. Bobby remained quiet in between them and prioritized the well-being of the patients, saving his words until all of this was over.

"O2 sat: 59. I can't get a pulse," their captain sighed as he continued monitoring the newborn.

"I'm so sorry," the girl, Marika, said in a shaky breath holding back tears. "Is she gonna die?"

"Give me your hand," she reached out her free hand and let Bobby guide her to the baby. "It's alright, it's okay," he comforted, giving her a small smile when the baby wrapped her tiny hand around the mother's finger. "Here we go," he sighed once the heart monitor of the baby beeped steadily once again.

The endearing way in which Buck talked to and soothed the baby all the way to the hospital's front doors washed away some of Dani's anger towards him. When the nurses helped the patients off the ambulance, she was left more tired than anything.

"Hey, you okay?" Hen looked at her still seated on the back of the ambulance, noticing the distant look in her dark-brown eyes.

"Just tired, but I'll be fine," Dani nodded and brushed off Hen's concern with a small smile before they turned their attention to the sound of screeching tires.

Next to their ambulance truck, Athena's police cruiser came to a stop as she got out and closed the door behind her with a scowl on her face.

"Hey!" She angrily pointed her finger at Buck, "You do not get to choose who lives and who dies!"

"Really?" He turned to her with a sass that only deepened the frown on her face as he met her with a smirk. "'Cause I was under the impression that kind of was my job-"

"That mother was no less a child than her baby," Athena cut him off as she stood directly in front of him, and Bobby let her have at it while he took a step back from the boy. "You're gonna get someone killed."

"Well, maybe, but not today," Buck answered back coolly, but anyone could tell he was beginning to feel guilty for the way he acted.

"Yeah, you keep making jokes." Athena nodded and narrowed her eyes into sharp daggers as she locked his gaze on hers, "I promise you, the next time you screw up, it'll be your last."

Buck scoffed, watching her walk away and leave in her vehicle, turning back to his team with a look of utter disbelief at the woman's words. His smirk dropped from his lips when he was met with multiple frowns and Bobby's stern look, "What?"

"Get in the truck."

This time, Dani allowed herself a satisfied smile as she got on the truck with the rest of the team.

Athena Grant calling out and setting Evan Buckley straight in front of his own captain? It was more than she could've asked for.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so happy to see the positive reaction this story's gotten, so I wanted to give you guys a little more! Even if this is a short chapter, I hope you still enjoyed it. :) Also in response to Dani's faceclaim, I picture her to look like the actress Adria Arjona. Oh, and for those who are caught up on the actual show, what do you think about the return of a certain character? lol please let me know, I'm curious of your thoughts! **

**And as always, for those who've read/favorited/followed this fic, I thank you as well! **

**I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and any constructive criticism you may have. Reviews are always great for a boost of writing motivation and do encourage me to update faster, so don't be afraid to leave even the simplest of words in the review box! :D **

**Thank you so much for reading, I wish you all lovelies a good day/night!**


	3. Pilot Pt3

**A/N: Hello everyone and Happy New Year! With the show's season 4 quickly approaching, I had a sudden surge of inspiration to continue with Dani's story, so I hope you enjoy the update! (Review responses are at the very end) ^.^**

* * *

**9-1-1 DISPATCHER: **  
WHAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY?

**CALLER:**  
HELP... CAN'T BREATHE...

**9-1-1 DISPATCHER:**  
I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU.  
ARE YOU SAYING YOU CAN'T BREATHE?

**CALLER:**  
777 DETROIT AVE... IT'S CHOCKING ME...

**9-1-1 DISPATCHER:**  
I HAVE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ON THE WAY.  
WHO IS CHOKING YOU?... DO YOU KNOW HIM?...

**CALLER: **  
MY... SNAKE...

* * *

"L.A. fire!" Their captain announced into the empty foyer after kicking open the front door of the large house. He turned to his team and nodded at them, "All right, guys, check all these rooms."

Dani picked up her pace as she walked down the long stretch of hallway, taking the left side to burst open every closed door. "Anybody here? L.A. fire!"

She stopped at a corner before the bend, peaking her head into the grand library room. Her jaw went slack with the view, a beautiful chandelier hanging from the high ceiling illuminating the space with its shining crystals as they reflected the sun's light coming through from the windows. For a second, she allowed herself to marvel at the hundreds of books on the floor-to-ceiling shelves, only to be caught off-guard by the live snake coiled on a makeshift tree in the corner of the room.

"Wow- Oh, my God!" Chimney stepped into the library with her, the team following suit, and widened his eyes while the unconfined snake hissed at their presence. "Bobby, I can't do snakes, they scare the crap out of me. That scene from Conan the Barbarian with the giant snake, it traumatized me for life. I-I can't."

Despite his fears, Chimney walked with his team but not without taking guarded steps around the snake as they stepped into some kind of showroom. His heart rising to his throat when they were met with more snakes, though these were safely contained.

"Who's Conan?" Buck turned to look at him.

"Conan the Barbarian. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 1982," he elaborated but Buck's face remained void of any comprehension. "Jeez-" Chimney let out in a mix of nerves and exasperation, clinging on to his hand pickaxe, surrounded by vicious reptiles.

"Dude, as far as I'm concerned, the world began the day I was born," Buck muttered as he closely studied the snakes enclosed in their small habitats.

Noticing him entranced with a particular one, Dani shook her head and stopped him before it crossed his mind to tap on the tank's glass, "Careful, that's a black mamba." His eyes looked away from the sleek gray snake and caught her standing with her arms crossed behind the glass in front of him. "Highly aggressive and venomous," she explained and watched as the small, playful smirk on his lips vanished and turned serious when he understood she wasn't just saying this to mess with him.

"What kind of idiot would want it for a pet?" Chimney raised his eyebrows, appalled, as he put as much distance between the dangerous snake and him.

"I don't know," Dani shrugged and continued the search, "but they better be a licensed one."

"Guys, in here," they turned their head's in the direction of the captain's voice. From across the hallway, Bobby ushered them into another room, "Back here, guys, now."

The bedroom could easily fit her whole apartment, but as huge as it was, Dani couldn't bring her eyes to focus on anything else but the young woman laying on the foot of the bed with a python wrapped around her neck.

Behind her, Chimney gasped at the horror while Hen and her rushed to help the blonde woman sit up despite the large snake threatening to kill her.

"Oh, my God," Hen's eyes widened when the snake moved its head and stared right at them. "We got to help her get some air, guys. Oh, my... Oh, my God. Oh, I..." Mouth slightly agape, she watched Dani take a deep breath and brave getting a hold of it.

"Shit-," the brunette bit down on her bottom lip, flinching back as the snake slithered out its tongue with an angry hiss. "Shit, I'm too scared," she couldn't help but breathe out, frustrated with herself while she helplessly glanced over at Bobby.

He stepped beside her, softly patting his hand on her shoulder before kneeling on the floor to try and uncoil the animal from the choking woman's neck.

"Bobby, it's no use," Hen sighed worryingly as he grunted at his unsuccessful attempt. "That thing is, like, ten feet long. Its constriction strength is, like, 50 pounds per square inch."

"Oh, my God, I'm gonna start calling you "Snake-ipedia." Stop it." Chimney was still trying to get his anxiety in check.

Hen turned to look at him, an amused glint in her eyes when she caught him hiding behind Dani. "All I'm saying is that you'd stand a better chance of tearing down a cement wall with your bare hands."

Buck stepped forward and offered to his captain, "Why don't I just punch it in its face?"

Dani blinked at him, dark eyes widened unbelievably as she scoffed, "Seriously, man- were you born yesterday, or are you really that senseless?"

Buck shifted his weight to his left hip and crossed his arms over her his chest. She continued to gauge his reaction and even raised a daring eyebrow at him as he took the affront with a silent glare her way.

"You can't punch it in the face, Buck." Bobby cut through the tension with a shake of his head. "It's a snake. It's not some guy at an El Torito happy hour," he directed at the young man, who puckered his lips distastefully at the brunette while she fought back the smug smile teetering at the corner of her mouth.

"Look," Hen sighed before she drove herself between the pair and their constant state of dissent, "we can inject the snake." She dug through her paramedic bag and presented her solution to the team, "It'll pass right out."

"How much time is that gonna take?" Chimney brought up the question.

"Minutes," their captain realized with a heavy sigh and glanced at Hen with a firm shake of his head, "And minutes we don't have. I think we're gonna have to put it down."

"Kill it-" Chimney hurriedly agreed with Bobby and both women turned to him with insane looks.

"Kill it? No! No, um, no!" Hen and Dani outright refused.

"Kill it. Just kill it."

"It's a snake. It's doing what nature intended for it to do." Hen huffed and Dani animatedly nodded her head in agreement as she pointed a finger down at the caller, "Nobody told this fool to bring a snake into her house!"

"Yeah, well, I'll make a donation to PETA for you-" Bobby couldn't help but remark as he struggled to unwrap the snake. His frustration growing while the woman choked out whimpers with the tightening snake around her neck, "Crap, it's getting really tight!"

"We could try some vinegar- or mouthwash? Kinda like a cat doesn't like citrus, it might repel it away." Dani offered hurriedly and took a step forward, intending to head into the connected bathroom with Bobby's approval, but Buck held her back by her shoulder.

"Nah, stand back," he ignored her furrowed brow as she eyed his grip on her upper arm with a mix of confusion and anger. "We don't have time for this!" All too soon, he raised his axe and made for a clean chop of the python's head.

"Buck!" Bobby gasped as he stood back, Chimney retching at the sight of blood spurting out from the decapitated snake.

"What the hell, Evan?!" Dani fumed as she reached for the axe and snatched it from his hold.

"You're welcome," Buck only chuckled, self-absorbed and overly pleased with himself as he taunted her with a cheeky wink.

"You little sh-" Dani looked up at him with narrowed eyes, growling as her fingers tightened around the axe's handle.

"O-okay," Hen drew in a breath and rushed to hold the angry brunette back. Once Dani tried to calm down at her side, she looked pointedly at Buck, "Wow. Why is that always the first option for you white boy, macho tough guys?"

"Guys, I am totally gonna take credit for this with Tatiana. It's gonna get me laid for a week." Chimney was short of jumping up and down from excitement. "Thank you," with a laugh, he patted Buck's firm chest proudly before he picked up their gear at the captain's order, and left.

"Oh, Spartacus," the woman cooed in lament as her pet was removed from her.

"Yeah, well, it was him or you," Buck knelt down in front of her with a charming smile, "and, uh, when faced with a situation like that, I always choose to save the more attractive one."

"Is that right?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right."

Dani didn't know whether to be disgusted or amused as the redhead seemed to have forgotten all about poor old Spartacus and blushed at Buck's pathetic flirting.

"Okay. Hard pass. I'm gonna skip the part where the two idiots flirt," Hen rolled her eyes and handed Bobby the bloodied axe, not helping her disgruntled tone before she followed Chimney to the exit.

Dani felt justified in her anger as she watched Hen leave, and moved to kneel next to Buck.

"Could you show even a shred of decency, Buckley?" She seethed, appearing more venomous than any black mamba he'd ever encounter, as her hands reached for the now languid snake's body hanging from the woman's neck. "The hell's wrong with you; we're right here."

"You can expect a visit from animal control," Bobby cleared his throat behind them and nodded at the caller. A silent relief rolling over his shoulders when Dani stood up without another word, dead snake in her arms as she stepped out.

* * *

Back at the firehouse, Dani occupied her time with cleaning the firetrucks. Running the blue rag over the headlights one last time to give them a shine, she wiped the thin sheen of sweat forming on her temple and turned at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"You done with her?" Buck pointed at the truck in question.

She nodded yes and paid no mind to him, picking up her bucket filled with water with one hand. But as he opened the door and took the driver's seat, her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, right," Buck tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel as memory surfaced. He hopped off the firetruck, glanced at her quizzical expression with a sly smirk while he closed the space between them, and pulled out his wallet from his pants' back-pocket.

"What-?" Water bucket and rag still in hand, Dani blinked down at the cash he hastily picked out and held before her.

"You said fifty, so here it is. Take it," he forced the money onto her empty hand, Dani's mouth going dry with insult at his derisive attitude, "should be enough to keep you quiet."

_Oh. Fuck. No._ She stood for a moment in utter awe at his audacity, unrelenting anger building up inside her as she watched him skip back to the truck and drive out of the station.

Turning on the heels of her feet, Dani dropped the bucket along with the dirty rag and crumbled the money in her left hand until her knuckles turned white. However, every intention of bursting into Captain Nash's office demanding putting consequences to Buck's actions died with quick realization.

There was simply no denying that Bobby had been too lenient with Buck. So she decided to take matter into her own hands.

* * *

It was no surprise to her to find him in a random apartment building's rooftop, Snake Woman straddling his lap as he leaned comfortably back on a desolate pool chair.

"_Hey!_" Dani shouted in outrage while her long legs strode through the gravel pavement. The whistling city wind gusting her hair across her face in waves, the fury in her dark eyes storming electric as the redhead jumped away from Buck and gaped at the picture-perfect mad woman. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you _are_?! Thinking you can pay me out like some corner-street whore!"

"Shit, shit..." Buck staggered to his feet, hands fumbling to pull his pants up and buckle them close. And after the dirty look he received from his latest conquest, he shook his head vehemently at her while stuttering out an explanation in all the chaos, "No, No- Jessie, no! It's not what you think-"

The young woman only gathered her things with urgency as he left him to deal with Dani's anger. The brunette appearing right before him in what seemed like a blink of an eye, her fist coming up to strike his face as he stumbled out of her way.

"Oh, god! Shit-" Buck's eyes widened at Dani turning to him, raging unabated before she reached out again to land a punch. His palm took the force of her knuckles as he stopped her fist with a grunt and tried to hold her back. "Hey, Dan- Dani, wait a second, chill!"

"Chill." Dani raised a hand to brush away her hair from her eyes and stood a step back, emitting a low chuckle as she released some of her pent-up fire. "You want me to chill, Buckley?"

"Yeah," he said hesitantly, shifting anxiously under her dark gaze, though he was thankful that she retreated. Still, he kept his guard up as he explained, "Look, I- I'm sorry if I offended you. I swear I didn't mean to make you feel like that, Dani. Really."

_If_ he had offended her. Did he seriously say that to her? God, she wanted to punch him so bad it physically hurt her to keep her hands at her side.

"Okay," she nodded at last and her blood boiled when he smiled in relief. Thought he was going to get away with it, did he?

Too busy with buttoning up his uniform shirt, Buck didn't see her fist coming until it hit him square on the side of his jaw.

"_Danila_!"

She winced, both from the pain exploded in her hand as she pulled back and watched Buck land with his ass on the ground, and her name being spilled angrily from Captain Nash's lips behind her.

"Bobby, I-," she clutched her right hand with her left in an effort to hide the bit of blood smeared on her knuckles left by Buck's bleeding lip.

The middle-aged man knew better than to touch her in this brazen state she was in, so he didn't bother pulling her back from the blond groaning at her feet, and made sure to keep his voice stern as he directed to her, instead, "You and I are gonna have a chat in my office later, but for now head back to the station, Dani."

* * *

Dani remained quiet, her gaze set dutifully on Captain Nash's golden name plaque on his desk. Being home-schooled for the better part of her youth, she hadn't the opportunity to ever sit inside a school principal's office, though this situation called for close comparison.

"You're under a week's suspension," Bobby sighed after flipping the paper he filled and motioning for her signature at the footnote.

With a quick glance at the form, Dani clicked open a pen from his pencil holder and signed her name. "Is that all?" She let out after clicking back the pen, settling it on top of the page and pushing it lightly to him again, and brought her hands down on her lap.

"No, Dani, this is not all," the sternness never left his voice as he leaned forward in his chair. Met with a questioning eyebrow from her- having expected everything to be settled now that her suspension had been rightfully filed- she didn't have a choice but to remain seated across his desk when he asked, "When's the last time you had any sleep? Or a proper meal?"

She fell back on her chair, the fading bruises around her wrists aching with a phantom pain as she slowly realized what this was about. Bobby didn't need to warn her about answering truthfully, because she knew that if she didn't her spot on the team would be gone. Just like Buck's was already vacant.

"Since my first day..." A sudden dryness overwhelmed her throat and she cleared it softly before trying again, nodding a little more strongly, "When I lost the jumper, Miranda. I know it happens, it's part of the job, and I know there's guidelines and procedures on how to cope when it does- But I haven't been dealing with her death like I should and that's why I acted out today. Still, going after Buck and punching him like that- _at_ _all_\- there's no excuse for it. I know I was wrong in doing that, and I swear it won't happen again Captain."

He studied her for a moment, taking in her words, and if the way she had said Buck's name without a hint of distaste or effort from her part was of any indication, Bobby undoubtedly believed it.

"Well, then let these several days off serve you peace of mind..." He trailed off in his thought, reaching for one of the lower drawers and coming back up straight to hand her a business card. "You can start by going to therapy."

"Thank you. I will," Dani promised, a relieved smile curling the corner of her mouth slightly upward as she took the name and number of the therapist and stood up.

"Oh, and Dani," Bobby held her for a second longer, "like I told Buck, I'm not the one you should apologize to."

She looked at him understandingly, daring to ask, "Did you really fire him?"

"Yeah, I did," he sighed and the loud blaring of the station's alarm bell didn't give either of them enough time to fully assess the disappointment, possibly even sadness, which painted her features at the fact that Evan Buckley was no longer part of Station 118.

* * *

While her team rushed out of the station to answer the call, Dani stepped into the locker room.

"Seriously," she bit back a tired laugh and scoffed at her jammed locker. Turning to glance outside the door, she saw no one. Everyone else was already gone, having no choice but to try the small lever again but to no avail.

Breathing out a sigh, she stepped back from the stubborn locker and looked down at the trauma counselor's card in her hand.

Frustration stung her eyes, sight blurry with unshed tears before she drowned all that lingering self-hatred away the only way she knew how. The business card crumbled in her fist as she hit the locker door, closing her eyes and forcing the tears to dry while she concentrated on the pain bloomed from her hand, shot up to her chest.

Dani had tried a shrink before. She'd seen dozens, and none of them were able to put her back together. Not completely; not enough to stop her family from looking and treating her like she was still broken.

All she needed was some good ass sleep. After that, she would wake up and deal with her demons in her own way. Dani already knew what those were and no therapist was going to give her any advice or prescription that she hadn't already tried.

Still, she opened her eyes and smoothed out the card to keep it safe in her jacket's pocket. The captain had given her orders and for the sake of her job she needed to follow them.

She tried for the locker door again and swept a hand back through her hair, annoyed when it didn't budge. Almost as if the firehouse was acting out against her leaving, she thought when she heard someone drop their bag behind her.

A slight turn of her head and she recognized Buck, who came in and silently put himself between the locker and her. "No," she quickly shook her head as he tried to open her locker, "it's okay, I don't need your-"

The door swung opened in a second with a bout of his strength, before he stepped aside and cut her off with a blunt exhale, "Wasn't offering."

Dani managed to keep her mouth shut, thanklessly retrieving her things from her locker once Buck had moved three feet down to open his.

"Bobby gave me a week's suspension..." She finally said, the air around them too tense for her liking as he swept everything out from his locker and stashed it in his gym-bag in a haste.

"I'm glad to hear he didn't fire you, too," he nodded, somewhat begrudgingly.

Face hiding behind the small rectangle of her locker door, she couldn't help but bite back, "At least I'm not the one who has problems with keeping my dick in my pants."

"But you sure do need help with your anger management issues."

Even if her view was hidden from him, she still saw that smart-ass smirk of his. Heard it in his snide remark as she raised her voice a bit. Every intention for the insult to smack his face when she looked at him, "You're such an asshole."

"And you're a real bitch." The door to his locker slammed shut, steel laminate resonating along with his anger, a nerve ticking as he set his jaw tight and faced her.

Dani opened her mouth, ready to retaliate, but she soon realized this was no help to either of them. They could argue, insult each other 'till they were red in the face and ready to blow each other's heads off if they wanted to, but none of it would serve any good in solving their issues.

"Yeah, well," she sighed, looking away for a moment to gently close her locker and zip up her bag before slinging the strap over her shoulder and turning back to him, admitting, "what we should really be is working that call."

Buck scoffed, though it wasn't directed at her if the sudden guilt that settled on his features and made him act nervous was any indication. "No, just you." He cleared his throat and nodded firmly, the hand that had been scratching the back of his head dropping lamely at his side before he walked closer to her. "I deserved what I got. I'm an asshole and I'm sorry I disrespected you."

"I shouldn't have punched you either," she agreed, "it was out of line."

Buck smiled. The first sincere smile he'd ever directed at her, and his eyes brightened when the brunette blinked with an uncharacteristic flustered tinge to the pink of her cheeks.

"Putting all of that aside, it really was a pleasure working with you, Dani." Extending his arm out to her, now, the realization weighed heavy in his chest at just how stupid he'd been.

"It wasn't all that bad having you in the team, either," she considered, shaking his hand with her own as she met his eyes in light amusement, "... Buck."

His eyes widened in surprise, dropping their hand-holding to shake his head in disbelief and laugh, "Oh wow! And to know all it would take for me to finally get you to call me Buck, was to get fired-"

"Hey, don't let me take it back," she warned him, trying to stop the embarrassment from rising as he made a big deal out of it.

"I won't, I won't," Buck held up his hands in mock surrender and subsided his laugh, before his jean's back pocket buzzed with an incoming call.

"Yeah?" he answered and Dani could make out Hen's voice at the other end. "Okay, yeah," his voice dropped and turned serious as he shot Dani a look.

The brunette stood closer and picked up on Hen's words a little more clearly- something about Athena needing help in Winnetka with one of their firetrucks- and quickly nodded her head at Buck in agreement.

"Yeah, Dani and I will be there in less than five," he said into his phone before hanging up and following Dani out of the station.

* * *

**Review Responses: (Warning: contains spoilers) **

_**Duchess of Lantern Waste:**_ Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)

_**Guest:**_ Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)

_**Only reviewer:**_ Haha omg you caught me! I actually went through Adria Arjona's filmography on Wikipedia and found one of her character role's name Dani on there. I'm always really indecisive on names and while I've never seen POI before, I thought Dani really fit her- though my oc's actual name is Danila. So yeah, that's a little background information you figured out lol Good job! And thank you for reviewing, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well :)

_**Guest Amelia:**_ Thank you for your review, I'm really happy to know your excited for Dani and Buck! This first season is going to be about them working as a team and building a friendship, since I decided to keep Abby and Buck a thing just like in cannon. And yes, I was talking about Abby's return lol thank you for noticing! And I fully agree with you on her way of handling her relationship with Buck like that, but as unfair as it was I do think it's essential to his arc and character growth so that's why I'm keeping that the same in my story. But I don't know if I should also entertain the thought of an Eddie and Dani relationship, maybe a fling? Lol if anything it would just be to add some good drama- just imagine a jealous Buck haha Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)

_**Cassie-011:**_ Thank you for your review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)

**Thank you so much for reading, and as always, I would love to hear I would love to know your thoughts, feedback, or any constructive criticism you may have! Reviews are great for a boost of writing motivation and do encourage me to update faster, so don't be afraid to leave even the simplest of words in the review box! :D **


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